


The Play's Not The Thing

by Ink_Gypsy



Category: Lord of the Rings RPF
Genre: M/M, Sean Astin character fics, Sean Astin/Elijah Wood - Freeform, otp birthday fics, tol_eressea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-21
Updated: 2014-04-21
Packaged: 2018-01-20 04:57:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1497475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ink_Gypsy/pseuds/Ink_Gypsy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A college student sets his sights on an egotistical stage actor.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Play's Not The Thing

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the "A Box of Seans" celebration at Tol_Eressea, celebrating Sean Astin's 43rd birthday, using one of the characters he's played. I chose Ken Zorbell from _Bigger Than The Sky_ , an actor with a massive ego, appearing in a small town theater production of _Cyrano de Bergerac_. I've paired this fictional Sean with Elijah Wood, who in this story, should be considered an original character.

[](http://s755.photobucket.com/user/elwoodlovesirish/media/ZorbellResized.jpg.html)

Elijah had never shown the slightest interest in live theater, yet he went to every performance of the limited run of _Cyrano de Bergerac_. If anyone asked him what he thought of the play he couldn’t have told them because despite sitting through it seven times, he still didn’t know what the story was about. That might have seemed strange to most theater goers, but to Elijah it was perfectly natural because it wasn’t the author’s words that had kept his interest throughout the show, but the play’s star.

It was only a community theater production in his small college town, but the minute he’d seen Ken Zorbell’s photo in front of the theater, announcing that this professional actor would be joining the regular members of the theater company for the entire season, he’d bought a ticket for opening night.

The actor looked to be in his 30’s, which was a check in the Pros Column on the list of things Elijah looked for in a man, plus one look at those gold-flecked green eyes and that adorable overbite and he knew he had to see if the man looked as good in the flesh as he did in his photograph. And he hadn’t been disappointed. If anything, Ken was even more handsome in person, and seeing him on stage had allowed Elijah a prime view his headshot photo hadn’t displayed. Seeing Ken Zorbell in his costume, which included extremely form-fitting tights, Elijah was delighted to discover that the sword Ken was using on stage wasn’t the only weapon he was carrying.

[](http://s755.photobucket.com/user/elwoodlovesirish/media/KenAsCyrano.jpg.html)

During every moment Ken was on stage, Elijah had been mesmerized. It didn’t matter that the other members of the audience didn’t appreciate his acting. All during the performance he heard derogatory murmurings from the other audience members seated around him.

[](http://s755.photobucket.com/user/elwoodlovesirish/media/ElijahInTheatre.jpg.html)

“…so pretentious.”

“…struts across the stage.”

“…no-talent hack.”

Elijah’s delight at being so close to such a gorgeous man, a real actor, made the comments being uttered around him easy to ignore. To him, Ken would have been brilliant if he hadn’t uttered a word, which was why after leaving the theater on opening night, he went straight to the box office and bought a ticket for every remaining performance of the play’s week-long run.

On the last night of the play’s run, Elijah finally got up the courage to go backstage to meet the man he’d been fantasizing about every night for the past week. Standing outside the door of Ken’s dressing room, he found he was trembling with anticipation. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door.

“Come in!” Ken called theatrically.

Elijah came into the dressing room, completely star-struck to be in Zorbell’s presence. The actor was even more attractive up close. “Mr. Zorbell,” he began, “I’ve seen your show every night, and I just had to come backstage to tell you how wonderful you are.”

Ken didn’t seem surprised by the compliment. “Of course you did,” he said condescendingly. He was used to being the center of attention, and there was nothing he liked more than the adoration of beautiful young men. “So what about me astounded you?” he asked.

Unable to control his enthusiasm, Elijah blurted out what he’d been dying to say since he’d first seen Ken’s photo. “You’re gorgeous!”

“That goes without saying,” Ken said, not missing a beat, “but what did you think of my performance?”

“You were brilliant,” Elijah told him, hoping the one word would suffice.

“In which scene?” Ken prodded.

Elijah bit his lip, hoping to remember some bit of dialog or action that would demonstrate how intently he’d been watching. When he couldn’t, he settled for an answer he hoped would please Zorbell and declared, “All of them!”

Ken looked pleased, but again, not surprised. “I thought so, too,” he said haughtily, and it was obvious he was serious. Elijah didn’t mind. As long as Ken was pleased, he’d have the actor’s attention. Ken wasn’t a big star yet, at least Elijah didn’t think so, which meant he might have a chance with him. He wasn’t sure how to approach him, but Ken took charge of the situation by suggesting, “Why don’t we go out for a drink? Somewhere we can be alone so you can tell me more about how brilliant I was. Is there a decent bar in this town?”

“Most of the bars cater to the college crowd,” Elijah offered, “but the bar at the hotel is more high-quality, more fitting for a star of your magnitude.” A plan forming in his mind, he asked, “You _are_ staying at the hotel, aren’t you?”

Ken looked pained. “Yes, I’m at what passes for a hotel in this provincial town.”

“I’ve never stayed there,” Elijah admitted, “but I hear it’s really nice.”

Ken sniffed derisively. “It’s not up to my usual standards, but since it’s the best accommodation available…”

“I’ve always wondered what it would be like to stay in a fancy hotel,” Elijah mused, giving Zorbell his best wistful look, “staying in a classy room and ordering a fancy meal from room service.”

When Ken didn’t respond right away, Elijah thought he might have gone too far, but then Zorbell said, “That does sound appealing, and since the theater company is picking up the tab, I see no reason why I shouldn’t enjoy myself.” Enjoy himself? Elijah’s heart sank. Then Ken added, “You’ll be joining me, of course.”

******

Dinner from room service had been as good as Elijah had imagined, and so had breakfast, but his opinion might have been colored by the fact that he was eating it in Ken Zorbell’s king-sized bed.

While the hotel food had lived up to Elijah’s expectations, Ken Zorbell had totally exceeded them. Those tights had been hiding a lot more than Elijah had first thought, and the actor had proven himself even more talented between the sheets than he had been on stage. What he lacked in height, he made up for in length, and Elijah had taken every inch.

It had been the best sex of Elijah’s young life, and as soon as it was over, he couldn’t wait for it to happen again, but would Ken be interested in more than a one-night stand? A man like Ken must be used to being pursued, had probably left a long line of discarded fanboys in his wake, but Elijah wasn’t going to be just another notch on the actor’s bedpost, not if he had anything to say about it.

It hadn’t taken Elijah long to realize that flattery was the key to keeping the actor’s interest, so he planned to give Ken’s performance last night a rave review. “You were incredible, Mr. Zorbell,” Elijah told him, sliding his hand under the covers to find Zorbell’s cock. For a moment he had considered taking the liberty of calling him _Ken_ , but decided the man would find the formal title more to his liking. He knew he’d guessed right when the flesh that had filled him the night before responded to his touch.

“I was, wasn’t I?” Ken responded. He ran his hand down Elijah’s bare flank. “I enjoyed your performance as well, Elijah,” he added, using his name for the first time.

Elijah’s face lit up. “Enough for an encore?” he asked hopefully.

Ken Zorbell eyed him quizzically. “You’re not a Theater Arts Major, are you?” It wouldn’t be the first time an aspiring young actor had tried to use him to further his career.

“No way!” Elijah responded quickly, seeing the suspicion in Zorbell’s eyes. “I couldn’t stand up there on stage in front of all those people the way you do. I’d be too scared to say a word.”

At Elijah’s words, arrogance replaced distrust and Ken said, “It _does_ take a certain strength to be able to bare your soul in front of a live audience.”

Since it wasn’t Ken’s soul he wanted to see bared, Elijah knew just what to say. “And you do it better than anyone. It was like you were all alone on that stage, like the other actors didn’t even exist.”

Ken nodded. “I _do_ exude a larger than life presence on stage,” he celebrated himself.”

“And an even larger one off stage,” Elijah put in, wincing inwardly at the unintentional pun, but it seemed to have gone right over the actor’s head.

Ken stroked Elijah’s face. “You’re a charming young man, Elijah, with much better taste than most people your age. And I did enjoy myself quite a bit, so I don’t believe a repeat performance is out of the question.”

“I have no classes today,” Elijah offered eagerly, “so unless you have to go back to the theater…”

“One of the keys to success in the theater as well as other professions is enthusiasm and knowing what you want, and I have to say that you display—“ Ken’s declaration was cut off by Elijah’s enthusiastic jumping of his bones.

Allowing for two intermissions for lunch and dinner (room service, of course), Ken performed a number of truly inspired encores, and Elijah gave him a standing ovation for each and every one.


End file.
